Finding Inspiration Everywhere: How I Shape Color and Form at Meri Lou
As a designer, I’m often asked where inspiration comes from. The truth is, creativity doesn’t arrive fully formed it’s a process of observing the world around us, capturing a spark, and shaping it into something meaningful. At Meri Lou Jewelry, every collection begins with this practice: looking at colors, lines, and shapes in nature, history, or daily life and transforming them into timeless design.
Studying at Parsons and leveraging the deep resources of its library has helped me sharpen my design eye and expand my creative vocabulary. Alongside this, I continuously read all WGSN design resources to stay connected with the latest technologies and fashion updates even as I dedicate myself to creating jewelry that remains timeless. This balance between forward-looking research and enduring craft grounds my creative process.
When we pause and really see our environment, everyday details reveal incredible beauty. The way shadows fall across a building, the subtle red-browns of winter hillsides, the ripple of water reflecting sky and trees these quiet moments contain endless inspiration. Much like diamonds, which reveal hidden depths when cut and polished, inspiration often lives in what at first seems ordinary.
Colors: I love noticing how colors shift with light soft gray-blues of rivers, muted greens of leaves, or the delicate pink of dawn. These natural palettes often inspire enamel tones or gemstone choices in our collections.
Lines: Branches against the sky or architectural details in historic buildings become the graceful curves or sharp edges in my designs.
Shapes: From petals to stones to urban textures, shapes are everywhere. They remind me that jewelry is both geometry and poetry, structured yet organic.
The creative process is about transformation. A flower might become an abstract enamel. A repeated motif might echo into a diamond setting. Sometimes I rotate a form, magnify it, or strip it down to its essence. Just as we reimagine gold and diamonds into contemporary forms, inspiration itself is reworked until it tells a new story.
Learning From Art Movements
History also reminds me that design reflects its time.
- Art Nouveau found beauty in natural curves, a rebellion against industrialization.
- Dada challenged rules, proving that creativity can bloom from chaos.
- Psychedelia exploded with fearless color, showing how design can mirror cultural revolution.
These movements resonate deeply with my own philosophy: that jewelry should be more than adornment it should be a mirror of culture, memory, and identity.
For me, designing jewelry is about weaving together the world I see, the emotions I feel, and the values I believe in. Whether it’s a cactus surviving harsh conditions or the interplay of Mondrian-inspired colors, inspiration is limitless. At Meri Lou, each piece carries this spirit forward an artistic message in gold and diamond form, ready to be worn and lived with.
Everywhere you look, there is inspiration. The key is to see it with new eyes, refine it with care, and let it shine through in your own story.
